Guns a Blazin'

This past weekend I went home with my roommate Lindsay (and our roomie Sarah came, too) to Southern Illinois. A couple weeks ago, we somehow got on the topic of shooting guns (which Sarah and I had never done) and Lindsay said her dad could take us. And he surely did. Mr. Breiling had a plethora of slugs/shells, 3 different guns, a whole box of clay pigeons, and some water jugs for targets all for our shooting pleasure.

First up was the clay pigeons with the 12- and 20-gague shotguns. This was hard. I shot a whole box of shells before I finally hit one. And guns are heavy. My arms were getting quite tired and I think Mr. Breiling was getting tired of throwing those things up. He was even cracking jokes about my aim "Jenna, why don't you shoot and I'll throw it into the path." You can tell he had a good time. Sarah and Lindsay did way better than I did with the shotguns and clay pigeons.

Lindsay on the left and me on the right taking down those pigeons.

Next was shooting the water jugs with the rifle (a Romanian SKS, I believe). This one held 10 slugs at a time so we each got 10 shots in a row. There were 5 water jugs total; 4 were in a line about 100 yards away and the 5th was out way past those. After Lindsay and Sarah shot their rounds and came up empty, I stepped up. Mr. Breiling told me my first shot was a little low so I re-aligned and bam - one water jug down and 4 to go! I think everyone was amazed that I was the first to hit one after the previous targets. Using up the rest of my slugs, I shot 2 more jugs including the one way far away. I was quite proud of myself and secretly very happy that I did well at something. It's also really cool to watch the water jugs explode and spray water everywhere when you shoot them. Lindsay and Sarah each got one of the other jugs.

The rifle set-up (we used the truck to help keep steady and we didn't use a scope) and here you can see how small the clay pigeons really are.


Lindsay and I with the rifle and the jugs that mostly I demolished.

We gathered up a lot of the clay pigeons we missed and shot some as targets on the hill (I knocked one over but didn't hit it and that's the closest anyone got) and then Mr. Breiling threw the rest up for Sarah and Lindsay. I wanted to end on a good note so I opted not to get frustrated and didn't do anymore pigeons.

And lastly, guns have a kickback. I was most scared of this and that I would fall down from it. But, I took it like a woman and let that gun knock me around (but not down on the ground). The picture below is like my badge of honor from an afternoon of shootin' guns. (I know it's supposed to hit more on my shoulder and I have a small bruise there but I think it kept rubbing on my arm where the bruise is). My other arm and shoulder is also sore. Shootin' guns is hard work!

Triple Threat

I am super blessed to have two awesome people in my life who are not only my roommates but my friends, too. Sarah, Lindsay, and I have gotten really close this year. During the week, we can often be found in the basement doing homework. Playing Settler's of Catan and train game are some of our favorite activities. I'm also blessed because these girls like to cook. I don't think I can ever go hungry as long as they are at 312. Each of us cooks about once a week which means tons of good food and not having to cook that often. Our leftovers are communal and that is wonderful. In addition to having friends that are always around, like cooking, and love playing games, Sarah and Lindsay are very encouraging and are strong Christians. Having that kind of support around 24/7 is just awesome and I am so grateful to God for providing me with such great friends. So here's to Sarah and Lindsay - cheers!

The Internet Just Got Cooler

Ok, I may be a little behind the times, but I used Pandora for the first time today. I've heard of it but never investigated it before. Pandora = awesomeness. You type in a music artist or song and it creates a whole internet radio station for you. I clicked thumbs down on a song I didn't like and Pandora apologized and said it was sorry for playing that song and that they'd never do it again. I forgave Pandora and then it played a song I liked. It is so awesome; it's like iTunes Genius but better because you don't have to "own" the songs. Sorry, iTunes, but Pandora, you rock.

Today I also discovered the website "My Life is Average" where people post random things that are actually quite humorous and not negative like fml. There are also tons of Harry Potter references which truly make this site awesome. Here are some examples:

• Today, I was walking down a busy sidewalk. A man stopped me and leaned to whisper in my ear. I was really creeped out, until he said "Pretend to be scared in three seconds" Three seconds later, his four year old son hopped out from behind a tree with zombie face paint on and yelled BOOOOOOOOO! I screamed and ran away, flailing my arms.

• Today was the first day of the new school year. As I was taking attendance and reading down the list, I realized that one of my students was named Thomas Marvin Riddle. When the time came to call him, I instead called, "He Who Must Not Be Named?" He said here, and I became the "cool" teacher.

• Yesterday, we were playing dodgeball in PE. One of the rules is if you hit someone in the face, they stay in and you're out. Since I'm no good at throwing, I was running around putting my face where the balls would hit it. My team won.

• Today, I saw a guy who looked just like Harry Potter, but with blonde hair. I shouted, "Bloody hell Harry, when did you go blonde?". He replied, "Hermione, I was just looking for you. Transfiguration class was a bugger. Can you change it back?". I believe I've found my soulmate.

Oh, the internets. What will they think of next?